


(Mis)Communication is Key in a Relationship

by AngeNoir



Series: Write-Away Giveaway 2 Fills [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Jealousy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-03
Updated: 2014-06-03
Packaged: 2018-02-03 03:50:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1730081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngeNoir/pseuds/AngeNoir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It would be easier, Steve knew, if Tony just didn't <em>like</em> Warren so much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(Mis)Communication is Key in a Relationship

**Author's Note:**

> Written for onemuseleft, for this prompt:
> 
> _Steve/Tony. When one of Tony's exes comes back into his life, Steve struggles not to get jealous._

They were leaving from another charity ball, Steve fed up with being poked and prodded by the social elite just so that they could claim they had touched Captain America. He knew, objectively, he needed to be here for these kind of public showings, but he deeply resented them all the same, and he worked very hard to keep everyone around him from realizing how much he absolutely detested the casual touches and easy overriding of the norms of personal space and intimate questions (namely, that such a thing as personal space and intimate questions _existed_ and should be respected).

Tony was looking particularly tired – Steve knew he’d come straight from a board meeting to help quash a potential situation, which thankfully didn’t turn into a full-fledged ‘Avengers Assemble’ situation, went back to the tower to deal with the construction crews that were fixing the latest result of Clint and Thor’s prank war (which, to be fair, everyone loved to watch, but this past prank backfired horribly, mostly because no one _knew_ that Thor’s lightning could ignite Clint’s gas arrow in that fashion and explode when charged fast enough), and then went back into the fray for this charity dinner. Steve was really looking forward to taking Tony back to the tower and dragging him into their bed and giving him a long massage before curling up next to Tony and falling asleep.

“Tony!”

Natasha turned on her heel, with that curious blank look that normally meant she was imagining murdering someone in increasingly intricate ways, and Steve looked over his shoulder to see a tall blond man, broad shoulders looking a little bulky and awkward, walking rapidly over to them, eyes wide. Tony, who’d been looking strained at having to deal with a last-minute guest who followed them outside, suddenly lit up, eyes bright.

“Warren! You sly dog, I thought you were still in Europe!”

“No, I’m back,” the man – Warren – said, spreading his hands and shrugging. “First big to-do since I got in to New York, though. I’ve mostly stayed in Washington D.C. or Chicago these past few months I’ve been back.”

Stepping around Natasha, Tony threw his arms out and pulled the man – Warren – into a tight hug. “What could those jokers in DC have that would keep you away from this lovely town?” Tony said, before turning to his two teammates. “Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, this is Warren Worthington – what is it, the fourth? Fifth? Tenth?”

“It’s the third, you incorrigible man,” Warren said, and Steve bit his lip at the tone of fondness in Warren’s voice, the easy bickering back and forth. It was like Rhodey, only worse, because with James Rhodes, his shared history with Tony had never involved a romantic relationship (or, at least, if it had, their current relationship no longer held anything but platonic interactions).

“Warren Worthington the third,” Tony said, voice playful and laughing. “Warren, this is Steve and Natasha, I’m sure you’ve seen us all on television, we’re very famous, now.”

“And you’d do anything for fame, wouldn’t you?” Warren said.

Steve stepped forward hotly, but Natasha put a gentle (subtle) hand on his wrist and flicked her eyes over to Tony and Warren, who were laughing with the easy camaraderie of good and close friends.

And Steve could handle dealing with most of Tony’s exes, because most of Tony’s exes were rude assholes who were conniving and scheming and Tony understood that. Steve hadn’t ever met an ex that Tony liked this much, still.

It was a bit threatening, really. Because Steve knew he was out of place here, in his 40s dress uniform because the elite loved remembering that Steve was a relic from the past, while Warren and Tony were both wearing highly expensive clothing, accessories, and shoes. These two shared a history, and—

“Tomorrow, then!” Tony said, grabbing at Steve’s arm and jerking him out of his thoughts.

“Tomorrow, what?” Steve asked, trying to catch up with the conversation that had obviously gone on around him while he was glaring holes into the floor at Warren’s expensive shoes.

Tony looked at him strangely. “Warren’s coming by tomorrow. We’ll catch up, hang around. You should be there, it’ll be awesome. Warren’s a really cool guy. He made my classes bearable when I was still in boarding school.”

Steve tried not to grind his teeth as he smiled at Tony. “Fury has me and Clint on that mission in the Pacific.”

Tony’s face visibly fell – and Steve told himself it was petty and cruel to take such enjoyment from the fact that Tony would be unhappy that Steve would be gone for three days. “Ah, that’s right. Well, at least Warren’s hanging around for a few weeks. You’ll still get to see him.”

Steve held his tongue.

***

He held his tongue as Tony invited Warren _everywhere_ and Warren fit so easily in with everyone at the tower – Pepper included. (Steve felt briefly vindicated when Bruce didn’t like Warren until it turned out he didn’t like Warren because Tony wasn’t around to do science as much, and then briefly happy again when Rhodes didn’t seem enthused about Warren either, but then that turned out to be because Warren encouraged Tony’s reckless behavior.)

He held his tongue when Warren would bring Tony extravagant gifts and take lunches with Tony at the office and drive Tony home from parties and just _be_ in the Tower, all the goddamn time.

He held his tongue when it turned out Warren was actually a great cook and had never actually seen the Princess Bride, but stayed over on their movie night to watch it with them.

And Steve knew this wasn’t going to last, because the last few times he’d been with Tony, he’d been possessive and more dominating than normal. He held Tony tighter, tried not to grind his teeth too obviously (Natasha saw, but since she’d already given him advice and told him to speak to Tony about it but Steve ignored her advice, she was reveling in Steve’s discomfort now).

As it was, he turned the corner into the kitchen and stopped, seeing Warren slumped over the countertop, head pillowed on his arms, and Tony slumped against him, the coffeepot trickling away in the background. And it said something about Steve’s level of possessiveness and jealousy that he noticed how easily Tony and Warren lay against one another’s shoulders before he noticed the white wings that folded neatly against Warren’s back.

“Tony?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

There was a muttered grunt and grumble and Tony’s head dropped off of Warren’s shoulder and squished between Tony’s and Warren’s arms. With a sigh, Steve moved over to the coffeepot and poured out a generous helping of coffee into a mug, then located a larger mug and put half coffee, half milk, and mixed in whipped cream and sugar. Tony didn’t like admitting he preferred his coffee like that than black, but Steve knew a lot about Tony that Warren didn’t.

Damn. Steve had been trying to cut back on his jealousy in his mind.

Biting his tongue, he put the two mugs of coffee in front of them. Warren grunted and grumbled, burrowing deeper into his arms, but Tony wiggled and blinked open his eyes. They were dazed, glassy, not quite focusing, and Steve watched fondly as Tony had to heave himself into a semi-upright position and grope for the mug’s handle.

When Tony finally dragged the mug closer to his lips and tentatively slurped up the light brown liquid, he squinted at Steve suspiciously. “Didn’t expect you to be here,” he muttered.

That made Steve pause a moment. “Here?” he asked, confused. He’d been living at the tower for a while, only ever used his apartment or SHIELD’s headquarters when he was too exhausted from a mission to move an inch more or when he knew Tony was out of the country.

“Not – not _here_ , but _here-_ here,” Tony said, and his words were slurred enough that Steve began to suspect that Tony just wasn’t using English right in his still-sluggish mind.

With a small sigh, Steve poured himself a cup and set it on the counter as he dug out a cereal box. “Are you hungry?” he asked.

“No.”

Steve grunted a bit and stood upright, clutching the Honey Nut Ohs and frowning at Tony. “You really should eat.”

“He’s right, darling,” Warren rumbled from where he was.

When it looked like Tony was actually considering it, Steve ground his teeth and set the cereal box a bit too forcefully against the counter “Well. It’s here if you want it,” he said in the most pleasant, level tone he could muster, and then he was up and out of the kitchen, his coffee held tight in his hand and his appetite lost.

A tug on his elbow had him turning in the hallway to see Tony standing there, one eye squinted shut and the other one glowering at him. “I don’t know what problem you have with Warren, Steve, but this is getting really frustrating and it has to stop.”

“And I’m trying,” Steve growled back, a blush climbing into his cheeks, “so when I don’t succeed, I leave so I don’t make things more awkward.”

That made Tony blink at him in confusion. “What?” Tony finally said, voice faint.

“I get it, okay?” Steve said, and he was so tired of it all, unable to keep the weariness out of his voice. “I get that he was a good friend, a good ex, someone you miss. I’m not trying to dictate who’s your friend, okay? I don’t have that right. I get that he’s good for you, and that you enjoy each other’s company, and that I’d be the one dragging everything down, so I’m trying, alright? I’m trying and when I finally get my shit together, or stop wanting to punch him for how he cuddles up to you and you to him, or stop wanting to throw him out of the tower because he knows what side of the bed you prefer to sleep on and what clothes you prefer to wear—”

“You’re… jealous?” Tony said slowly.

Steve’s cheeks pinked, he knew they did, but he tightened his jaw and cleared his throat to meet Tony’s gaze squarely. “Look, I already said I’m trying to get it to stop, okay, it’s my problem not yours—”

“I think that’s the sweetest, most idiotic reason ever,” Tony said, and when Steve jerked out of Tony’s grip, Tony stepped forward. “No, really, you have nothing to be jealous about, okay, Warren and I, we were fuckbuddies. It was never serious with us, and he’s got someone else now, anyway, someone who’d tear me apart in a blink of an eye, the only reason he’s hanging around so much is because we’re trying to liquidize some assets, get some money moved around safely for the students of Xavier’s school so they’re provided for. That’s _it_. Okay? You’re the only one, will be the only one, for as long as you’ll have me. You have nothing – _nothing_ – to be jealous over. He wasn’t even as good as a lover as you, if that’s what you need to hear.”

“ _I_ didn’t need to hear that.”

The two of them turned to see Warren smiling wryly from the kitchen doorway, hair mussed and giant wings folded tight to his body. “I have no desire on your boyfriend’s virtue, Rogers,” Warren said finally.

“ _I know_. What part of that are you not getting? I trust Tony, even if I wouldn’t trust you, but it still angers me to see you so tactile with one another, but _that’s my own problem_ ,” Steve said heatedly.

Tony distracted Steve from Warren by pressing an open-mouthed kiss to the palm of Steve’s hand. “How about we head back to the bedroom,” Tony purred under his breath, “and I try to make it easier for you to handle it?”

“Aaand that’s my cue to make myself scarce,” Warren said easily, turning back around and retreating into the kitchen.

Steve let out a sigh. “You don’t need to make it better; it’s _my_ fault—”

“No, see, here’s what you don’t understand: it’s sweet that you’re staying away from us because you don’t want to make a scene, but we’re boyfriends now, right? Right?”

“That sounds so juvenile, but yes,” Steve grumbled.

Tony smiled wide. “Well, then, we deal with issues like this _together_. So you take me aside and say ‘hey, I don’t want you to stop being friends with your ex, but I’m having trouble being calm when you guys hang over each other, so I’m going to be scarce while I figure my shit out’ and that way I don’t have to wonder what I did recently to piss you off, okay?”

Steve smiled tentatively. “Okay.”

“Good. Now come on, even if it was just a little fight, I deserve make-up sex.”


End file.
